Does Magical Realism have an opposite?

Is there a genre of writing that is set in a “magical” setting, but with completely common place, human drama, plot lines? If there isn’t, there ought to be. What would we call such a genre, though? Mundane Fantasy doesn’t have a positive sound to it, so there must be a better label.

If such a genre doesn’t exist, perhaps a writing challenge to create the genre is neccessary :stuck_out_tongue:

How about “fantasticodullness”?

What would you classify the movie The Fisher King?

Lawrence Watt-Evans seems to approach this kind of thing sometimes in his Ethshar books. He’s got a pretty well flushed out fantasy world ( right down to having “fantasy” names that are as common in his world as John or Anne are in ours. Ethshar is full of Kelders and Sarais, even some main characters. I’ve always found that a nice touch). He’s not afraid to follow the day to day life of some pretty common characters for the entire story, while mentioning much grander real world events in passing.

Ithanilin’s Restoration is a good example. Grand events are happening somewhere in the world, but the story just follows a middling talented wizard’s apprentice solving a minor personal crisis. No saving the world or restoring the rightful heir to the thrown or slaying the evil sorceror…just a fairly entertaining story about some pretty ‘common’ people in a fantasy setting, solving a problem that’s really only pressing to those involved. No one great or particularly important in the grand scheme of things is central to the story.

Sorry, can’t resist a chance to gush about my favorite fantasy writer.

Wel[, since magical realism involves stories in which the fantastical is an ordinary part of everyday life, wouldn’t your genre be one in which nothing exciting happens but people are really amazed by it anyway?

“Oh my God! The sun rose in the east again! I’m so fucking blown away!”

I’m not sure I follow. Kind of an opposite of Urban Fantasy (Charles DeLint, for example)?

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magical_realism:

There is a book called “Tooth and Claw” by Jo Walton. It’s a perfectly Victorian comedy of manners, except that all the characters are dragons.

This sounds like the kind of thing you are thinking of? I don’t think it’s too common.

Glen Cook’s Garret, PI novels are set in a Fantasy world, but star a hard-boiled PI.

That’s close.

BTW–read them.

Yep, those sound about what I had in mind. Thanks for the recs :smiley: I don’t know, but the idea a typical Anne Tyler/Alice Hoffman/Elizabeth Berg drama set in wonderland strikes me as potentially funny. YMMV

Here’s a link to the first Garret Book, Sweet Silver Blues.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0451150619/ref=pd_sbs_b_2/102-1232838-4078548?_encoding=UTF8&v=glance

Damn good, too. Enjoy!